Stephen Gilligan's workshop
I am on 4days seminar of Stephen Gilligan, today was the first day of that 4days.
In my climbing activities, I was always in my zone, like some people experience runner's high. In my case, my ice climbing was my zone.
With rock, it gets harder to me since it requires more finger power, so I moved on to trad. That way, I don't need finger power, I can jam, so I was more of trad climber than sport climber...
I mostly climbed in Ogawayama, Mizugaki, Jyogasaki, and Syosenkyo. Especially Syosenkyo was memorable place for me.
Anyway my main interest in climbing is to enter zone, and be connected to my inner self, which some people call it "inner god", and that leds me to Steve Long, of UIAA when I asked him to publish UIAA alpine summer in Japanese, that was an act of my inner god. (Links here)
Kyusyu my born place
After coming here in Kyusyu, my inner god keeps saying me to stop climbing, it even created so many injuries... my right leg cuff torn, my right leg knee dislocated, and the last year my Achilles tendon had raptured... what is going on?
In a 5 pitch 5.11 trad multi-pitches called Hakua slab, I was doing a second, and the lead climber had connected 25 m and 35m pitch in one, and our rope was 50 m single. We did not bring our backup rope because he was so proud of announcing we did it without backup!
I was taken my sweet spot that I was sorry for him not being able to find a climbing mate.
In that connected pitch, I climb up about 5 m from my belay point to help him, so he will have a bit more rope lengths, I had no way of telling that he connected 2 pitches with 50 m rope. When I got up, I saw we both were hanging on just one bolt and the bolt was something called cut-anchor, 40 year old and it strength is said to be 5kN much weaker than regular red Camelot, and we trad climber all know we never put our entire life on just one protection.
25 + 35 is a way too longer than 50 m, very obviously, so he had to stop climbing anyway, somewhere in a middle of the pitch. Without proper anchor... meaning two bolts in sport routes ... but we hang on just one cut-anchor.
We barely survived this climbing but he mentioned on the spot,
"In retrospect, I should have gotten 60 m rope" ...
Do you see how stupid this word is? 25 +35 is 60, so 60 m rope still will not do, obviously... how are you going to bult an belay point with?
I never thought this dumb he could be... not just him, any other climbers... I knew they are pretty dumb but this dumb???
He must have not seen a topo(a guide book that climber use) so he is the worst kind of climber who will put his partner in death by neglecting a basic safety in climbing, such as seeing a topo before you go to a route.
so I was having a hard time accepting his attitude as my own mistake of responding his request of doing a second for him...
I felt kind of sorry for him because he asked because he had no one else but me.
At the same time, a flashback memory of my dad pushing me... 2years old, into a water started.
My background
I had lost my younger brother when he was 24, so I am extra sweet to young guys... and not very intelligent guy...because my bro was not intelligent type, he did not do so well academically.
But I must stop reflecting my younger bro, to a rope partner, who can be the stupidest person I ever seen in climbing community.
Now I am very careful. Last time, someone from Costa Rica wanted to climb with me but I let her go. She had no rope with her. No car. No draw. Nor belay device. Just harness and shoes.
So today, in Steve Gilligan's workshop, I had built my connection to mountains and found out that my swimming was a metaphor of being incubated in a mother's womb... reconnecting to inner self or bigger self, so I can be better climber when it is done.
I will swim in Kyusyu.
That is where a good tradition of Asian good daughter is inherited. Personally, Kyusyu's male tradition is disaster they still worship of 40 m runout in 5.8 when everyone can climb better nowadays. Who's life is worth of such easy routes?
So I must take care of this anger that I was almost killed and being used.
Take your time
Take your time was a message I got, so I will take my time to heal this wounds.
He had really damaged me. Me, my body, my soul, and my relationship with my husband...all at once it was endangered...
What an evil soul I have seen in Kyusyu... it is so surprising to see a climber can be this bad when his ego of showing off is so strong.
